ODESSA, Texas — Texas Governor Greg Abbott declared the week of April 29 as "Small Business in Texas" Week, thanking the over three million small businesses across the state of Texas.
That includes the small businesses out in the Permian Basin, where said businesses help support the West Texas economy and shape culture.
Out in Odessa, groups like the Office of Economic Development try to give small businesses what they can to help them thrive.
“We try to provide the infrastructure and support system to help more small businesses want to get started and support an entrepreneurial system,” said Tom Manskey, OED director of Economic Development.
When people take a stroll through downtown Odessa, they'll see the typical bars, restaurants and boutiques that come with any downtown area. However, many small businesses in Odessa are dedicated to supporting a mainstay of the Permian Basin region: the oil and gas industry.
“Go into downtown and you look around town, [you'll see] the oil service businesses that support your larger oil and gas businesses like Liberty and Chevron and Diamondback or what have you," Manskey said. "Those are like three different companies I just named and they may receive support from dozens upon dozens of small businesses.”
For all small businesses, no matter what they specialize in, the OED has a program to not just sell land, but support to small business owners.
“We have a business retention and expansion program," Manskey said. "We're not selling anything but support and we try to schedule meetings on a regular basis where we go around and ask these businesses, what are their issues? What gives them headaches, how can we help and how can we help them grow?”
With these resources, Odessa hopes to make starting up a small business as smooth as possible.
“When new issues or new things come to our attention, we try to look into that, address it and see where we can continue to create kind of an ecosystem where small businesses thrive in our area,” Manskey said.
For people who are interested in the business retention and expansion program, they can apply for it by going to the Odessa Economic Development website and filling out a short form. There, one can get numerous incentives and can also get help with planning, permits and funding.